Hooking device for fixing a drawer to a guide

ABSTRACT

The hooking device ( 10 ) for fixing a drawer ( 20 ) or the like to a pull-out longitudinal guide ( 11 ) premountable on a body of an article of furniture comprises a body ( 12 ) applicable to the pull-out part ( 11 A) of the guide and a hooking member ( 17 ) which in the mounting condition extends upwards and is insertable in a hole ( 18 ) provided on the drawer ( 20 ); the hooking member ( 17 ) is separate and connected in a movable and adjustable way to the body ( 12 ) of the device, and adjusting means ( 23, 31 ) are provided for adjusting the position of the hooking member ( 17 ) with respect to the body ( 12 ) of the device.

The invention relates to a hooking device for a fixing a drawer or the like to a pull-out guide premountable on a body of an article of furniture, the device being of a type applicable to the guide and exhibiting a hooking pin insertable in a mounting position in a hole afforded on the drawer.

It is well known the use of hooking devices, or clip devices, applicable to the front end of the extraction guides for drawers, which devices exhibit a pin insertable in a mounting position in a hole afforded on the lower part of the drawer for fixing the drawer to the extracting guide. The devices enable limiting the operations required on the drawer and thus conventionally exhibit height adjusting means, which enable aligning the fronts of the drawers so that they are parallel to one another.

However there is the problem that the fronts of the drawers, once mounted, can also be in an advanced or retracted position and/or displaced laterally with respect to one another due to working errors or tolerances or erroneous positioning of the holes.

There exists, therefore, the need for a hooking device of the sort under consideration, which enables the above-mentioned drawer positioning problems to be obviated, and which is also constructionally simple and easy to be mounted; it also enables compensating working and/or hole-drilling operation errors on the drawer as well as recuperating any eventual play that might exist between the guide and the drawer.

The aim of the invention is thus to provide a hooking device of a type with a hooking pin insertable in a hole afforded on the drawer, which is constructionally simple and easy to be mounted, and which can enable a correct reciprocal positioning of the drawers, while at the same time enabling a compensation of working errors and/or hole-drilling errors, and allowing a recuperation of any play that might exist between the guide and the drawer.

The above can be attained with a hooking device for fixing a drawer or the like to a longitudinal pull-out guide pre-mountable to the body of a piece of furniture, the device comprising a body connectable to the pull-out part of the guide and a hooking member for the drawer, which in mounting condition extends upwards and is insertable in a hole provided on the drawer, characterized in that said hooking member is separate and connected in a movable and adjustable way to the body of the device, and in that adjusting means are provided for adjusting the position of the hooking member with respect to the body of the device.

Further characteristics of the present invention will be further defined in the following claims.

The characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be more fully evident from the following description of preferential but not exclusive embodiments of the hooking device for fixing a drawer or the like to a longitudinal pull-out guide, with reference to the accompanying figures of the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pull-out guide for drawers, provided with a hooking device for fixing a drawer according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the guide of FIG. 1 along line 2-2, in which a drawer is hooked to the device according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view from above of a hooking device for fixing a drawer, according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view from below of the hooking device of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views from above of the hooking device of FIG. 3, with the hooking member regulated in an advanced position and respectively in a retracted position;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view from above of a slider for the hooking device, by means of which, in conformity with a second embodiment of the invention, the hooking member is connected to the body of the device adjustably transversally to the pull-out direction of the guide;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view from below of the slider of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a hooking device for fixing a drawer, according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 10 and 11 show a perspective view from above of a hooking device for fixing a drawer, according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in the two end adjustment positions;

FIGS. 12 and 13 show an exploded perspective view from above and respectively from below of the hooking device of FIGS. 10 and 11.

The hooking device according to the present invention, denoted in its entirety with reference numeral 10, is of a type applicable to a front end of the mobile part 11A of a pull-out guide 11 for drawers or the like, premountable on the body of a piece of furniture, and is provided with a suitable hooking member for fixing the drawer, as will be more fully explained herein below.

In particular, as illustrated in figures from 1 to 6, the device 10 comprises a body 12, preferably made of a plastic material, which extends along a longitudinal axis, which exhibits an axial extension 12′ conformed such as to be insertable or in any case connectable and fixable to the front end of the mobile part 11A of the guide 11, such as to be arranged parallel to the longitudinal pull-out direction of the guide 11.

The body 12 of the device on a first longitudinal side exhibits a support wing 14 for a height-adjusting means 15 of known type for the drawer, while on a second longitudinal side opposite the preceding side it exhibits a support wing 16 for a hooking member 17 for the drawer, preferably in the form of a pin, which in mounting conditions extends upwards and is insertable in a hole or a seating 18 afforded on the drawer, for example on the lower side of a lateral wall 19 of the drawer 20, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

According to the present invention, the hooking member 17 is separate and connected movably and adjustably to the body 12 of the device 10, and means are provided for adjusting the position of the hooking member 17 with respect to the body 12 of the device.

In a preferential embodiment of the invention, the hooking member 17 is adjustable with respect to the body 12 in the longitudinal pull-out direction of the guide 11.

Alternatively, the hooking member 17 is adjustable with respect to the body 12 transversally to the longitudinal pull-out direction of the guide 11, or both in a longitudinal direction and in a transversal direction to the longitudinal pull-out direction of the guide 11, in a horizontal lie plane of the drawer.

More specifically, for the purposes of the above-mentioned longitudinal regulation, the hooking member 17 is preferably formed on an element 21, separate from the body 12, which element 21 is connected to the body 12 movably and adjustably such as to enable a displacement of the hooking member 17 in different positions parallel to the pull-out direction of the guide 11.

According to an exemplary embodiment, illustrated in greater detail in figures from 3 to 6, the separate element 21 provided with the hooking member 17 is in the form of a slider 21, which is inserted slidably longitudinally in a seating or elongate cavity 22 afforded in the lateral wing 16 of the body 12, such as to enable longitudinal displacement of the pin 17 with respect to the body 12.

With the aim of regulating and blocking the slider 21 is position, as mentioned, adjusting means are provided, which for example comprise a toothed wheel 23, arranged rotatably but not axially displaceably in a housing seating 24 below the wing 16, as well as a toothing 25 which extends longitudinally on the slider 21 such as to engage with the toothed wheel 23 and enable longitudinally adjusting the slider 21 with a suitable rotation of the toothed wheel 23, for example by engaging a suitable tool in a profiled hole 23′ thereof.

In order to achieve a rotating constraint in the housing seating 24 of the wing 16, the toothed wheel 23 further exhibits a disc 23″ coupled to the wheel in an axially distanced position such as to define an intermediate annular engaging seating for an arched edge 24′ of the seating 24.

The adjusting means further comprise releasable retaining means between the slider 21 and the wing 16 of the body 12, such as to enable selective blocking of the slider 21 in the different adjustment positions; the retaining means can for example be realised in the form of transversal opposite toothings 26, 27, afforded respectively on the slider 21 and on a part of the wing 16 internally of the cavity 22, which are engageable to one another slidably in different positions corresponding to the longitudinal adjusting positions of the slider 21.

With the aim of preventing withdrawal of the slider 21, a peg 28 is preferably provided, which extends internally of the cavity 22 of the wing 16 such as to engage in a longitudinal slot 29 of the slider 21; for the purposes of the mounting of the slider 21 in the cavity 22 of the wing 16, the peg 28 extends starting from a flexible tab 30 of the wing 16, such as to enable insertion of the peg 28 in the slot 29 by flexion of the tab 30.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, thanks to the above-described solution the hooking member 17 can be regulated simply and rapidly in the longitudinal extraction direction of the guide 11 in different positions comprised between a completely advanced position and a completely retracted position.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate a further embodiment of the invention in which similar or equivalent parts have been denoted using the same numerical references. In particular, in FIGS. 7 and 8 a slider 21 is illustrated for the hooking device 10, by means of which the hooking member 17 is not only adjustable in a longitudinal direction but is also adjustable with respect to the body 12 transversally to the longitudinal pull-out direction of the guide 11, in a horizontal lie plane of the drawer.

In particular, in the exemplary embodiment, the hooking member 17 is formed on a support 31 separate from the slider 21 in turn separate from the body 12. The support 31 is connected to the slider 21 in a movable and adjustable way with respect to the slider 21, for adjusting the position of the hooking member 17 at least transversally to the pull-out direction of the guide 11. By way of example, the support 31 is formed by a disc 31 on which the hooking member 17 is positioned offset. The disc 31 is housed rotatably in a through-hole 32 of the slider 21. In this way, by suitably rotating the disc 31 for example by means of a suitable tool inserted in a profiled cavity 33, the position of the hooking member 17 can be regulated in the above-mentioned transversal direction. Instead, the position of the hooking member 17 in the longitudinal direction in this case is defined both by the angular position of the disc 31 and by the longitudinal position of the slider 21.

For the purpose of retaining the disc 31 in the hole 32 of the slider 21, the hole 32 exhibits a stop having an annular edge 34 at an axial end and at the other end an elastic tab 35 which enables, after insertion of the disc 31, retaining the disc 31 in position.

Instead, for the purposes of the rotational blocking of the disc 31 in the various regulating positions, the disc 31 and the hole 32 exhibit knurling 36, 37 on the peripheral surfaces, respectively external and internal which, by engaging with one another, prevent a free rotation of the disc 31.

FIG. 9 exhibits a third embodiment of the invention, in which similar or equivalent parts have been denoted using the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the slider 21 is made of a profiled metal sheet, with the hooking member 17 formed by folding a part of the sheet metal of the slider 21 upwards, enabling a simplification at the constructional level.

The slider 21 is for example mounted slidably longitudinally in a guide seating 42 afforded on an upper side of the lateral wing 16 of the body 12, or it can be mounted directly on the upper surface of the wing 16, such as to enable a longitudinal displacement of the hooking member 17 with respect to the body 12. With the aim of regulating and blocking the slider 21 in position, for example a lockscrew 43 can be provided which extends through a slot 44 fashioned longitudinally in the slider 21 such as to engage in a threaded hole 45 in the wing 16; in this case, the longitudinal regulating of the slider 21 can be manually realised, after unblocking the screw 43.

Finally, in this case too opposite transversal toothings 26, 27 are provided, fashioned respectively on the slider 21 and on a part of the wing 16 internally of the cavity 42, which are engageable to one another in different positions corresponding to the longitudinal regulating positions of the slider 21, such as to enable selective blocking of the slider 21 in the different regulating positions.

FIGS. 10-13 illustrate a further embodiment of the regulating means of the longitudinal position of the hooking member 17 which in this case comprise a wheel 50, supported in a rotating seating 53 fashioned on the lateral wing 16, and provided with a spiral guide 51 which enmeshes with projections 52 facing towards the guide and afforded on the slider 21. The longitudinal guide for the slider 21 is obtained by means of U-folded parts 54 of the slider 21, which surround the wing 16 of the body 12, and by a pin 55 equipped with a head 56 fixed in the wing 16 and crossing a slot 57 afforded in the slider 21. The wheel 50 projects laterally from its rotating seating 53 in order to be activatable manually by the user, and perimetrally exhibits a knurling 58 which facilitates gripping thereof for command thereof. The wheel 50 is alternatively activatable by means of a tool. For this purpose the wheel 50 centrally exhibits, on the opposite side to the side on which the spiral guide 51 is fashioned, a centring pin 59 in the seating 53 inserted in a through-hole 60 in the wing 16, and the end of the pin 59 has a notch 61 that is engageable by the tip of the tool.

The above-described embodiments represent possible examples which should not be taken to limit the invention; according to the present invention, different modes of connection of the hooking member 17 to the body 12 of the device 10 can be provided, as well as different means for regulating the position of the hooking member 17 with respect to the body 12 of the device, by means of screw means, cam means, wedge means or the like.

The hooking device 10 preferably further comprises a peg or lateral anti-tilt fixing organ 38 for the drawer, which extends through a through-hole and is transversally mobile to the axis of the body 12 such as to engage in a seating or slot, not illustrated, elongate in a longitudinal direction, provided in a lower prolongation 19′ of the lateral wall 19 of the drawer 20.

Once the drawer 20 has been correctly mounted on the pull-out guides 11, the fixing peg 38 enables the drawer 20 to be solidly anchored to the hooking devices 10.

For activation thereof, the fixing peg 38 exhibits at an end thereof a manual gripping means, for example in the form of a flat prolongation 39, such as to be able to slide the pin 38 easily such as to engage or disengage it from the seating in the lateral wall 19 of the drawer.

The hooking device 10 can further comprise a pin or frontal organ 40 which can be used as an anti-tilt fixing means, in substitution for or in addition to the lateral fixing peg 38.

In particular, the front pin 40 extends axially starting from a transversal wing 41 that is flexible or elastically yielding located at an end of the body 12 facing towards the front wall of the drawer 20.

The front wall of the drawer 20 exhibits a seating or engaging hole, in which the pin 40 inserts in the mounted condition of the drawer 20.

As is clear from the foregoing, the hooking device according to the present invention exhibits a simple construction that is easy to mount, as the base structure of the body of the device and the fixing means thereof to the guide are not modified with respect to the known hooking devices; further, thanks to the regulation of the hooking member of the invention, the drawers can be optimally positioned with regard to one another, enabling compensation of working errors and/or drilling errors on the drawer, and recuperating any play that there might be between the guide and the drawer.

The hooking device according to the invention is however susceptible to modifications and variants which fall within the scope of the inventive concept; further, the constructional details can be replaced by technically equivalent elements. 

1. Hooking device for fixing a drawer or the like to a longitudinal pullout guide pre-mountable to the body of a piece of furniture, the device comprising a body applicable to the pull-out part of the guide and a hooking member for the drawer, insertable in a hole provided on the drawer, which in the mounted position extends upwards, and is insertable in a hole afforded in the drawer, wherein said hooking member is separate and connected in a movable and adjustable way to the body of the device, and in that wherein adjusting means are provided for adjusting the position of the hooking member with respect to the body of the device.
 2. Hooking device according to claim 1, characterized in that wherein the hooking member is movable and adjustable with respect to the body in the longitudinal pull-out direction of the guide.
 3. Hooking device according to claim 2, wherein the hooking member is adjustable with respect to the body crosswise to the longitudinal pull-out direction of the guide, in a horizontal plane in which the drawer lies.
 4. Hooking device according to claim 2, wherein the hooking member is formed on an element, separate from the body, connected to the body in a movable and adjustable way with respect to the body parallely to the longitudinal pull-out direction of the guide.
 5. Hooking device according to claim 4, wherein said separate element is conformed as a slider, slidably inserted longitudinally in a seating provided in a side wing of the body.
 6. Hooking device according to claim 5, wherein said adjusting means comprise a toothed wheel, rotatably disposed in a housing seat of the wing, and a toothing longitudinally extending on the slider, the toothed wheel and the toothing being engaged with each other.
 7. Hooking device according to claim 5, wherein said adjusting means further comprise releasable retaining means between the slider and the wing of the body.
 8. Hooking device according to claim 7, wherein said retaining means comprise opposite cross toothings respectively on the slider and on a part of the wing of the body, said toothings being engageable with each other in different positions corresponding to the longitudinal adjusting positions of the slider.
 9. Hooking device according to claim 5, wherein said adjusting means comprise a wheel supported in a rotating seating fashioned on said lateral wing, the wheel being provided with a spiral guide which enmeshes in projections facing towards the spiral guide and fashioned on the slider.
 10. Hooking device according to claim 2, wherein the hooking member is formed on a support separate from an element in turn separate from the body, said element being connected to the body in a movable and adjustable way with respect to the body parallely to the pull-out direction of the guide, said support being connected to said element in a movable and adjustable way with respect to said element for adjusting the position of the hooking member at least crosswise to the pull-out direction of the guide.
 11. Hooking device according to claim 10, wherein the hooking member is disposed in eccentric position on said support formed by a disc rotatably housed in a hole of said slider.
 12. Hooking device according to claim 1, further comprising a front member connected to the body in an elastically yieldable way conformed and disposed to be inserted in a corresponding seat of the front wall of the drawer.
 13. Hooking device according to claim 5, wherein the separate element consists of sheared piece of sheet metal, the hooking member being formed by a upwardly bent part of the sheet of the separate element, said separate element being releasably fixed to the wing of the body by a screw extending through a longitudinal slot of the same element for engaging in a threaded hole provided in the wing.
 14. (canceled)
 15. (canceled)
 16. Hooking device according to claim 1, in combination with and operably connected to a pull-out guide for drawers and the like.
 17. Hooking device according to claim 16, wherein the pull-out guide is operably connected to a drawer. 